Acids+and+Bases+Resources

The Roles of the Hydronium and Hydroxide Ions, pH, and Neutralization Reactions

//Acids// are defined as compounds that are hydrogen ion donors. They can also be referred to as proton donors because a hydrogen ion is really just a proton. For an acid to be a hydrogen ion donor its formula must contain at least one hydrogen atom. However, there are compounds that have hydrogen atoms but are not acids. For example, water (H2O), wood alcohol (CH3OH), and lye (NaOH) all have hydrogen atoms but are not acids. This difficulty in differentiating led to an updated definition of acids: **Acids are compounds that produce hydronium ions when mixed in water**.

The Hydronium Ion The hydronium ion is the defining particle of all acids. A hydrogen ion is so reactive that it really does not exist by itself, but it attaches to something else, usually a water molecule. When a hydrogen ion (H+) attaches itself to a water molecule, the resulting combination is called a hydronium ion. H+ + H2O > H3O+ hydrogen ion water produces hydronium ion

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